Glitches
by Dogmatix
Summary: Yuugi's puzzle isn't exactly what he expected, and Yami isn't exactly what he seems. This is a x-over, and will probably contain yaoi if it continues long enough.
1. Glitch

Rating: PG  
Warnings: one dead guy.  
Notes: X-over, because it amuses me.  
Summary: How Yuugi acquired Yami.

****

Glitches

Yuugi was lonely, cold, and tired. Clouds overhead obscured the few visible stars, casting back Domino's city lights as a sullen orange glow. The completed puzzle rested heavy and cold against Yuugi's chest, as inert as any common chunk of metal.

It had been something of a disappointment, when the last piece had slid into place... and nothing had happened. Yuugi had thought for just a second that the puzzle was glowing, but then it was gone, if there had ever been anything there in the first place. Despondant, Yuugi had snuck downstairs and out of the house, needing to get outside for a while.

Running a thumb along one edge of the inverted golden pyramid, Yuugi frowned. He wasn't sure why he had even taken it with him - some lingering hope, perhaps.

Echoing footfalls sped down the road, and the sound of... it sounded almost like... gunshots! Before the young teen could react, two figures clothed head to toe in complete black had flickered past him and were gone. Leaving behind the face-down corpse of someone in a business suit not three meters away from Yuugi.

Hands clenched tight on the pyramid, Yuugi started to stumble back from the corpse. He didn't manage even a step before something struck him. Only, it wasn't like getting hit - he'd been beaten up enough to tell. This was... like being squeezed. Squeezed out of himself. Something _pushed _at him, and the world started to flicker, fading and sparking as he _stretched_ and tried to scream with a throat closed by panic and-

Something was glowing with a pure, sharp light, and Yuugi looked down to see bleeding hands locked tight around the Puzzle. He frowned as he pulled tingling hands away and let the metal pendant fall to his chest. Something was different. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but... maybe he was in shock? He didn't feel like he was. Curious, he walked over to the dead body in the road and kicked at it. Definitely dead, that kind of boneless flop only came from dead bodies. And he shouldn't know that. In fact, something was _definitely_ weird. He reviewed who he was. Motou Yuugi, lived with his grandfather at Kame Game Shop... no, not right. It was as if there was something... something he'd forgotten. 

Reaching up to one ear, his hand closed around an earpiece, carefully lodged. Yanking it out, he stared at the curled plastic wire leading from it. Cold washed over him as something tried to surface in his mind, claws closing in around his thoughts and the Puzzle was _radiating _light. 

With a curse, Yuugi tore the rest of the communication device from his clothes and flung it violently away. Danger, he was in danger. He had to protect Yuugi... wait. He _was_ Yuugi, wasn't he? No time now, something was coming for him and he didn't know how he knew but he _knew _and he ran, as far and as fast as he could. Heart pounding in his throat he finally made a sharp turn and _twisted_ past the eyesight of the ticketsellers of the movie theatre, ducking into the first running movie he came across. The Puzzle finally stopped glowing as he lost himself amongst the anonymous crowd. Plopping shakily into a seat, Yuugi shivered.

He let the mindless babble of the movie wash over him for a while, let it soothe jangled nerves as his breathing evened out. Okay. Okay. It looked like he might not be Yuugi, which was a really freaky feeling because he _remembered_ being Yuugi, being small and helpless and constantly bullied... and he could feel the warm, trusting presence sleeping next to his spirit, curled up contently like small fluffy kitten next to a leopard. Yuugi.. or.. whoever he was... rubbed his temples. This was very confusing. And, he realized belatedly, that thing he'd done instinctively to get past people unseen was _not_ something a normal person could do. 

Whoever-he-was stroked the Puzzle gently, knowing from the way his hands felt that the injuries from not half an hour ago had already completely healed. He wanted to not think about it. He wanted to just... shut his eyes and make it all go away. Or at least get a little bit further away, give himself space to think. Leaning back into the warmth of... well, of Yuugi, the.. other Yuugi... decided to do just that. He knew how to get home, so.. he'd do that. And then he'd go to sleep, and hopefully it would all look better in the morning.

Groggy and stiff, Yuugi put up a hand to block out the morning sunlight streaming through his window. Why was he in bed? He was wearing his pajamas? He didn't remember putting them on.. in fact, he didn't remember even going to bed. Blinking to clear the cobwebs from his brain, Yuugi grew more and more alarmed as he realized that he didn't remember anything after leaving the house for a walk last night - it just... faded away.

Yuugi glanced nervously about the room, wary of any other changes. Nothing caught his eye. He'd apparently come back home, put on his pajamas, and gone to bed. All without remembering a single moment. Yuugi's hand went automatically to the Puzzle that hung about his neck, which felt warm, probably from the sunlight streaming into the room. Wait, the Puzzle? Looking down at the golden pendant, Yuugi thought he felt... happy? Well, he _had_ managed to solve the puzzle he'd been struggling with for eight whole years, that was a big acomplishment. Even if it hadn't miraculously answered his wish.

...Back to the missing memory. Yuugi frowned. Maybe.. it was like sleepwalking? He hadn't done anything strange, just come home and gone to bed. Maybe he was worrying too much. Thumb stroking unconsciously along a golden edge, Yuugi decided that unless something else happened, he'd write it off as sleepwalking. And really, he felt better than he could remember ever feeling before - he felt confident, almost. Today, he thought with a smile, felt like the first day of a new life.

End Ch 1


	2. Ripples

Notes: Don't expect updates this quickly all the time, but here's chapter two so long :)  
  
Review Responses:  
**Nicole Silverwolf**: Good guess. Spot on, in fact grin Thanks for the reviews:)

**Lady Threarah**: Thank you. Mostly, even I don't know if I'm going to continue or not. But chapter two is done, at least

**E**: Fast enough for you? grin

Summary: What everyone else was doing while the Puzzle spazzed. g

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

**Glitches Ch2: Ripples**

PhonePhonePhone where was the damn _phone_? Blood pounded in the lanky blonde's ears as he broke the doors open one by one with panic-fueled hammer blows, moving down the hallway as quickly as he could. A spiky-haired brunette went through the doors on the opposite side.

_Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrring. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrring_

Both heads snapped up as one. Ahead of them trilled the sweet sound of salvation, echoing through the abandoned building.

"Go for it!" Jounouchi yelled as he slammed through the door, Honda hot on his heels. Honda plucked the earpiece out of its cradle and flickered out of existence even as it touched his ear.  


Jounouchi grabbed the falling earpiece and clapped it back in its cradle. This was the part he hated most. Trapped, pinned down in the Matrix while Rex dialed again. His fingers twitched for his cards. Silent. So silent. No trace of the Agent that had pursued them, hounded them, tenacious as a bulldog. Only Honda's deadly aim had bought them a precious few moments. But there had been someone, a kid – _poor kid, wrong place at the wrong time_ – standing on the sidewalk. Probably dead now, taken over by the Agent. So where was the Agent? Jou's neck prickled with unease. It was taking too long. Where the hell was Rex?

Heart pounding, Jou felt as if his senses were stretched wire-thin through the building.

_Rrrrrrrrrri- _

Faster than conscious thought, Jou had the phone to his ear and the world went black.

Upholstery beneath him. Rough clothes. Dry, recycled air, circulated a thousand times over by the machinery humming softly in the background. Home sweet home.

"Hey Jou," Honda threw out from somewhere to Jou's right.

"Jounouchi-kun, are you allright?" asked a grim female voice from right next to him.

"Yhe- Yeah, Mai, don' getcher nickers'n'a twist," he slurred, groping the back of his neck for the thick coil of wire hooked into his spine. "Whuzzup w'the phone – call was slow," he asked as he staggered upright to the affronted glare of the ship's captain. His Eye was aching, again. It always did after he left the Matrix.

"We don't know," she grudgingly allowed.

"Static," Rex spat from his post in front of the array of monitors, twisting around to look at them. "Some kinda freak phenomenon in the Matrix, like a bomb of static went off right close to you guys, had ta punch through a crapload of noise to get a connection. Stuff's still there."

"A new weapon?" Mai asked sharply, stalking over to look at the screens.

"Don't think so," Rex opined, "whatever it was wiped the Agent out too. Poof. No more Agent."

"It was probably a glitch then?" Honda asked uncertainly.

"…..Maybe," Mai replied.

"A glitch, eh…..?" Jounouchi repeated quietly. Well, that explained where the Agent had disappeared to, he thought. Somehow… somehow thought, he felt that this wouldn't be the last time they'd run across this particular 'glitch.'

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Black flickered in the corners of his vision. Black and glowing green that chittered softly. Pushing away from his computer, Kaiba Seto stalked away from his desk, ending up in front of the tinted window that looked out over Domino. Harsh streetlights and muted houselights spread out below him, radiating out from the foot of Kaiba Corp headquarters.

Even the usually soothing sight couldn't settle him tonight. It he were inclined to such garbage, he'd say that someone had 'walked over his grave.' There was a constant itch in the back of his head tonight, making the black flickers stronger than they'd been in a long time.

Seductively strong. It called to him, cajoling with half-understood promises of power the likes of which he'd never dreamed of. His hands clenched into fists and his back drew into a stiff plane of tension. No. He wouldn't surrender to it. Not now, not ever, not while-

"Nii-sama?" asked a young, sleepy voice.

Mokuba reflected in the glass, letting Seto see his young brother's tousled mop of black hair clearly.

"'S late, go t' bed already."

"I will," Seto said softly, "I just have to finish debugging this program."

"You said that last time," Mokuba pointed out as he approached Seto. "You were still awake in the morning."

Seto had no response to that, and the warm body of his little brother was very convincing. It might also, he acknowledged, be a good idea to stop working on his computer for the night, since his sensitivity to the black and green flickers was at its highest while he was coding.

"Allright," he capitulated, "let me turn off the computer, then I'll put you to bed," he almost-teased, "again." Only Mokuba saw this, the small part of Seto that was weak and soft. Only Mokuba wouldn't hurt him with it.

The computer screen had changed. The screen was completely black, and a single line of text glowed green at the top.

'Do you want to know what the Matrix is?'

Seto's eyes narrowed, the only outward sign of his immense displeasure. Reaching out, he tried to switch off the computer. The text remained. Somehow _reaching_ with more than his hand, he turned the computer off again, letting a sliver of ice flow along the flickering black code of his arm. The screen blanked and the faint scent of fried circuitry wafted from it.

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked from where he stood in the doorway, waiting impatiently.

"Done," Seto said with something that was almost a smile. Dismissing his computer and ignoring the fading feeling of white noise from outside, Seto escorted his little brother back to bed.

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Aboard a small ship in a dark room, a bronze-skinned woman with thick black hair looked at the bank of monitors. One screen was dark, broken. The others had static running along them in waves, shivering this way and that in a truly random pattern.

"Intriguing," she said, fingering the golden Tauk around her neck.

End Ch2


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Glitches, Ch3

Rating: PG for talk of death and soul stealing.

Summary: Dueling and introspection. Not a lot of Matrix in this one. (also, starts with an actual chapter in vol. 6 of the manga - Imori's Duel is in no way shape or form owned by me, nor is YGO in general, nor is Matrix)  
Comments: Check for replies at dogmatixfics livejournal.

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA  
u Glitches Ch3 /u 

Harsh light filled squinting eyes. Stale classroom air grated past an aching throat. His heart hammered fitfully in his ribcage as life and breath flowed again through Other-Yuugi, the Puzzle warm beneath his fingertips.

But now he was truly alone, only cold emptiness where the solid press of Yuugi's soul should be. Other-Yuugi felt scared and alone and above all, angry.

Other-Yuugi knew he was tied to Yuugi through the Puzzle, but he had never been as acutely aware of that tenuous connection as he was right at that moment. Imori, one of Yuugi's classmates, had stolen – had dared to steal – the Puzzle, held it ransom for a game of Dragon Cards.

Imori had had the Puzzle, had had him, had held him, immobile and helpless, while Yuugi fought valiantly and alone, but ultimately in vain. Yuugi's last desperate grab for the Puzzle as his soul was ripped from his body was the only thing that had given them one final chance.

He'd bet his soul, double or nothing. He would win, there was no other option. He'd drawn his cards, strategy whispering a soft green in the back of his mind. Discard this. Select that.

Elemental Dragons summoned to fight on the mundane school desk; Metal and Earth for him, Water and Wood for Imori, rising tall and majestic out of nothingness. Counter and attack and defend and counter again. Calling to his Metal Dragon, feeling the communication flow between them in wisps of flickering symbols.

Sacrifice. Victory.

A precious jewel of light and life drifted towards him. Into him. Other-Yuugi smiled, just a little, as the warm, soft presence fit back where it belonged.

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Yuugi sat cross-legged in his bed, moonlight streaming in though the window and nightlight on. The Puzzle still hung around his neck. He'd lost the game with Imori-kun, he remembered that quite clearly. He also remembered his last desperate lunge for the Puzzle, and then… darkness. A hungry, scratching darkness that felt like acid and sandpaper as it wrapped around him, smothering and scratching at him.

He thought he might have screamed then, but he hadn't been able to hear anything there, or see anything, or feel – And that had been when the world had tilted around him, a second screaming presence had pushed him out as it filled the darkness in his place. There had been light around him, and warmth, and an aching joy and then… nothing.

He'd come back to himself standing outside the game shop.

Just another blackout in a long string of blackouts that had started the night he'd completed the Puzzle.

So far the periodic blackouts hadn't happened around groups of people or anyone who'd required explanations afterwards, but…. People turned up insane or went missing after his blackouts. What happened when he blacked out? Was he hurting people? Or.. worse?

Yes, he was usually being bullied or threatened when he blacked out, and he was always alone and somewhere safe when he came to. Still…. Yuugi was quietly terrified.

Yuugi turned off the nightlight and curled up under his blankets. He didn't take the Puzzle off. Would he hurt his mom and dad next? People he knew and cared for? Would he snap and go on a killing spree? The Puzzle didn't feel dangerous, but could he afford to trust it? Even if he felt safest when he wore the Puzzle, like it cared about him? And was the fact that he seriously considered an inanimate object to have a personality and motives a sign that he was already insane?

Similar troubled thoughts pursued Yuugi into sleep.

A few minutes later, Yuugi's eyes opened again. Only now they were harder, older. And red where they should be purple. Other-Yuugi sat up slowly, despondently. Yuugi might not remember when Other-Yuugi took over, but Other-Yuugi remembered everything from both their experiences. He was even getting better at telling when Yuugi was in control and when he was.

Yuugi didn't trust him. Well, no, Yuugi didn't trust the Puzzle; Yuugi didn't even know Other-Yuugi existed. Still, it amounted to pretty much the same thing, and it… hurt. Other-Yuugi knew why the fear was there, of course – he was privy to Yuugi's every thought and feeling. He even understood, logically. After all, he did kill people, and he did cause Yuugi to black out. But he would never, ever do anything to hurt Yuugi. He just wished he could tell Yuugi that.

Maybe he should refrain from lethal punishments, even if the person obviously deserved it for hurting his precious little one. And Yuugi was precious. Beyond all else, his light and warmth was like nothing Other-Yuugi had ever felt before, and somehow it drew him, called to him.

Not that Other-Yuugi had much to go on as far as memories went, since he couldn't even remember his own name, but he knew familiar things, like the weight of a mind as he crushed it into madness. …..Probably not a good thing to ever tell Yuugi.

Other-Yuugi groaned and let his head fall to his drawn-up knees. Maybe Yuugi was right to be afraid.

The Puzzle dug uncomfortably into his chest and thighs, and he leaned back. Yuugi had worn the Puzzle to bed. Yuugi had grabbed for the Puzzle when his soul was being taken – hell, he'd fought to get the Puzzle back in the first place. Some of that might be attributable to not wanting a powerful object to fall into the wrong hands. But not all of it. So why? Why did Yuugi keep the Puzzle so close?

He didn't understand, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

If only there were some way to communicate with Yuugi, reassure him. Other-Yuugi sighed. But that was impossible.

Or was it?

Switching on the bedside lamp, Other-Yuugi slipped quietly out of bed.

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Morning arrived much too early, as far as Yuugi was concerned. Dragging himself out of bed in the blessed post-alarmclock silence, he dressed more by habit than sight, fumbling blindly for his uniform. In fact, it wasn't until he was searching for a stray textbook than he found the note on his desk.

A plain piece of paper, it was folded to stand up, and had on the front simply "To Yuugi."

Confused, Yuugi picked it up. Had Grandpa left it for him? Folding it back, Yuugi found a precise, almost painfully neat handwriting, as if the person writing knew the language but hadn't had much experience writing in it.

As for the message itself…

"Dear Yuugi,

I'm," and the paper looked heavily erased here, almost worn through, "not sure who I am," well that wasn't encouraging. "I suppose I'm a spirit, or something. I know I'm tied to the Puzzle. You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm sorry for scaring you, and I will try not to do that in the future."

And that's where it ended. It was unsigned.

Yuugi sat down hard on his bed. Was this some kind of trick? But how could it be? It was only him and Grandpa here, after all, and Grandpa wouldn't do something like this. And who could know about the Puzzle except Yuugi, after all? It was real. The… spirit of the Puzzle? had left him a note. A note. A ghost had written a note to him. And a very neat one, too. Yuugi bit back a hysterical giggle. He was a guy, he did not giggle. And he didn't know if he could stop once he'd started.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. And realized that the Puzzle was still around his neck. The possessed Puzzle whose ghost had left him a note.

A cold rash of goosebumps swept over him. There was a ghost hanging around his neck.

He found himself reading the letter again. "You don't have to be afraid of me." That didn't sound so bad, did it? "I'm sorry for scaring you." The spirit sounded contrite, certainly. And… was it really so bad? At least now he knew. There was a definite person to talk to instead of some nebulous unknown threat.

Unless he was crazy and had written the note himself. No. This had started with the Puzzle, and had always revolved around it, and that business with Imori-kun certainly had been much too real to be an illusion.

"Yuugi, where are you? You're going to be late!" his Grandpa called, breaking Yuugi's introspection. Yuugi's eyes widened as he glanced at the clock. That couldn't be the time!

"Be right there!" Yuugi yelled, frantically zipping his backpack. Ghosts and dragons could wait; he really was going to be late!

End Ch3


End file.
